Italian soccer president Abete quits together with coach after controversial World Cup exit

Football - 25 Jun 2014 -

Giancarlo Abete, the president of the FIGC, the Italian soccer federation, has stepped down in the wake of the national team’s elimination from the World Cup in Brazil.

Abete announced his resignation on Tuesday, at the same time that Italy coach Cesare Prandelli also revealed that he was leaving his position.

Italy had just been defeated 1-0 by Uruguay in a controversial match in Natal to crash out of the World Cup in the first round for the second successive time. The game was overshadowed by an alleged biting incident involving Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, which went unpunished at the time and is now being investigated by Fifa.

Despite resigning himself, Abete said he had asked Prandelli, who agreed a contract extension prior to the tournament, to reconsider his decision.

Speaking at a post-match press conference, the FIGC head said: "I will go to the board and offer my irrevocable resignation too. I had already made this decision before the World Cup.

"The new president of the federation will have my complete support. I’m disappointed as a fan but we gave it our all. Prandelli has offered his resignation. When we get back [to Italy], I will call a meeting with the federation and hope he will withdraw it."

Abete took over at the FIGC in 2007 and was charged with restoring the reputation of Italian soccer in the wake of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal and widespread fan violence, which helped to scupper the country's bid for the 2016 European Championships ultimately awarded to France.

Italy, the Euro 2012 runners-up, made a promising start to this year's World Cup by beating England but subsequently lost to both Costa Rica and Uruguay, both of which have progressed to the last 16.